A UX audit costs between £1,500 and £30,000+ in 2026, depending on depth. A lightweight expert (heuristic) review runs roughly £1,500–£3,000; a focused audit of a SaaS or web product £5,000–£15,000; and a deep audit with user research and testing £15,000–£30,000+. Price is driven by scope — how many user flows you review and how much original research is involved.
Below is the full breakdown: what each tier includes, what pushes a quote up or down, and how to tell whether an audit is worth the spend. Figures are typical market rates for the UK and EU; Biotik prices every audit as a fixed scope agreed up front.
How much does a UX audit cost?
“UX audit” spans everything from a half-day expert opinion to a multi-week research project, so prices vary widely. Three tiers cover most of the market:
| Type of UX audit | Typical cost | Timeline | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expert / heuristic review | £1,500–£3,000 | 2–5 days | A focused product or one key flow; a fast, senior second opinion |
| Focused UX audit | £5,000–£15,000 | 1–2 weeks | A full SaaS or web product; several flows, funnel and accessibility |
| Deep audit + user research | £15,000–£30,000+ | 2–4 weeks | High-stakes products; usability testing with real users, before a redesign |
Freelancers and smaller studios sit at the lower end; specialist agencies and research-led engagements at the higher end. Day rates for senior UX work in the UK typically fall between £600 and £1,200, which is why a wider scope or original research moves a quote up quickly.
What’s included at each price tier
Expert / heuristic review (£1,500–£3,000)
One senior designer evaluates your product against established usability principles and your own analytics. You get a prioritised list of issues and quick wins — fast and cost-effective, but based on expert judgement rather than watching real users. Often enough to surface the biggest problems on a focused product. See what a heuristic evaluation involves.
Focused UX audit (£5,000–£15,000)
A full review of your product across several core flows: heuristic evaluation, a walkthrough of sign-up, onboarding, activation or checkout, a conversion-funnel and information-architecture review, an accessibility check, and a written report with annotated screens and a sequenced roadmap. This is what most teams mean by “a UX audit.”
Deep audit + user research (£15,000–£30,000+)
Everything in a focused audit, plus original research: recruiting real users, moderated usability testing, and analysis that shows not just what’s wrong but why users struggle. Worth it before a major build or redesign, where being wrong is expensive.
What affects the cost of a UX audit?
Five factors explain almost every difference between one quote and another:
- Scope — how many user flows and screens are in review. One checkout flow costs far less than an entire product.
- Research depth — expert review only, or original usability testing with recruited participants. Research is the single biggest cost driver.
- Product complexity — a simple marketing site versus a data-heavy B2B or fintech platform with many states and edge cases.
- Seniority — who actually does the work. A senior specialist costs more per day but usually finds more in less time.
- Turnaround — a compressed timeline or a fixed deadline can carry a premium.
Is a UX audit worth the cost?
For a product with real traffic that isn’t converting or retaining the way it should, an audit almost always pays for itself — because it turns a vague sense that “something’s wrong” into a ranked list of exactly what to fix, so you spend on the highest-impact changes first.
Source: Forrester Research
Source: IBM Systems Sciences Institute
Against those numbers, the cost of an audit is small next to the revenue a leaking funnel loses or the budget a team spends building the wrong fix. The output is a plan, not just a critique — so the value tends to show up in the first few changes, not months later.
The hidden cost of skipping a UX audit
Doing nothing has a price too, it’s just harder to see on an invoice. Friction in onboarding quietly caps activation; a confusing checkout leaks paying customers; and teams burn weeks debating fixes with no evidence, or ship a redesign that solves the wrong problem. A good UX audit replaces opinion with a prioritised, evidence-backed plan — and when you’re ready to act on it, it flows straight into UX design or conversion rate optimization work.
How Biotik prices UX audits
We price every audit as a fixed scope, agreed up front — no hourly meter, no surprises. You tell us the product and the flows you care about; we come back with a costed proposal, a timeline and exactly what you’ll get. Most engagements land in the focused-audit tier, and we’ll tell you honestly if a lighter expert review is all you need. We run audits for SaaS, fintech and product teams across London, Tallinn and the wider EU.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a UX audit cost in 2026?
A UX audit typically costs between £1,500 and £30,000+ depending on depth. A lightweight expert (heuristic) review runs roughly £1,500–£3,000; a focused audit of a SaaS or web product £5,000–£15,000; and a deep audit with user research and testing £15,000–£30,000 or more. Price is driven by scope — how many flows are reviewed and how much original research is involved.
Why do UX audit prices vary so much?
Because “UX audit” covers everything from a half-day expert opinion to a multi-week research project. The main cost drivers are scope, research depth, product complexity, the seniority of the people doing the work, and turnaround speed. A wider scope and original user research move a quote up quickly.
Is a UX audit worth the cost?
For a product with real traffic that isn’t converting or retaining well, almost always. Forrester has found every $1 invested in UX can return up to $100, and issues caught in design cost far less to fix than the same issues found after launch. Because an audit returns a prioritised list, you spend on the highest-impact fixes first.
How much does a cheap UX audit cost, and is it enough?
An expert or heuristic review — one senior designer evaluating your product against usability principles — starts around £1,500–£3,000 and is often enough to surface the biggest issues on a focused product. It won’t include original user research, so it relies on expert judgement and your analytics rather than watching real users. For high-stakes flows, pair it with usability testing.
How long does a UX audit take?
Most UX audits are fixed-scope engagements of one to three weeks. An expert review can be done in a few days; a deep audit with recruiting, usability testing and analysis typically runs two to four weeks. Timeline scales with the number of flows and the amount of original research involved.
What should be included in a UX audit price?
A proper UX audit should include a heuristic evaluation, a walkthrough of your core user flows, a conversion-funnel and information-architecture review, an accessibility check, a written report with annotated screens, a prioritised issue list mapped to impact and effort, and a walkthrough call. If a quote only covers a surface visual review, it’s priced as something less than a full audit — use our UX audit checklist to compare like for like.